To Love Thee, or Not to Love That is the Question
by HermionenDraco-love
Summary: Hermione Granger has just been asked to the next Hogsmede outing by Neville Longbottom, but she also has someone else pulling at her heart. That person is Severus Snape. Who does she love? Who does she want to love?


Title- For the Love of Potions! Rating- PG-13 for later chapters. mild language in this chapter Ships- HG/SS/NL. Hehe! Notes- I know there are a lot of HG/SS fics out there, so don't be too harsh on me if this one doesn't turn out right. Please R/R I would appreciate any comments! Please R/R! Disclaimer- I sadly do not own any of the characters in this story, however the plot is MINE! ALL MINE!!! MWAHAHAHA!  
  
"God dammit!" Hermione hissed under her breath. "Why does our first class of the year and week have to be with them???" The Gryffindors and the rest of the students in the school had just received their schedules for the year. Unfortunately for the seventh years, their first class was with the Slytherins, Gryffindors natural enemy.  
"Well, it can't be as bad as last year, can it? I mean, you are Head Girl this year." Ron, one of Hermione's best friends, tried to console her.  
  
" Ron, what do you mean 'It might not be as bad as last year?' Of course it will be! We still have Snape, that mean old bat. and we still have Potions with the bloody Slytherins!" Hermione snapped at Ron. She wasn't in the best of moods on the first day of school because the Head Boy was none other than Draco Malfoy.  
  
As the seventh year Gryffindors and the seventh year Slytherins made their way down the dank hallways of the dungeons, Neville Longbottom accidentally ran into Hermione. "I am so sorry Hermione!" The clumsy boy cried apologetically.  
Hermione smiled. "It's no problem Neville, really!" She bent down and picked up all of her belongings off of the cold stone floor. "But you should really watch where you are going next time, ok?"  
  
Neville simply nodded in agreement and started for the classroom, but as he made his way, Severus Snape the Potions Master stopped him. "I believe it is only polite to let the teacher in first, Mr. Longbottom."  
Neville whimpered and looked at Hermione. She smiled weakly at him and he blushed.  
  
After all of the students settled in their seats, Hermione looked up and glared at her professor. He simply looked at her down his pale, crooked nose, and said coolly, "Ten points from Gryffindor for Miss Granger's attitude."  
Hermione opened her mouth to disagree with him, but Harry, who sat on her left, nudged her in the ribs so that she wouldn't make a fatal mistake, but Hermione ignored him. "But Professor Snape! All I did was look at you!"  
"Miss Granger, you will have detention with me tonight." He looked absolutely pleased with himself, while Hermione sat there shocked.  
Draco Malfoy snickered, and Hermione Glared. 'Why in the bloody world do I have to share quarters with him?' Hermione thought. It is true, she did have to share living quarters with Draco, only because they were Head Boy and Girl.  
  
Potions went by very slowly, as it usually does. They were learning about and how to brew the ever so dangerous Polyjuice Potion. As she finished packing up her book bag, Snape said to her, "Please come to my office tonight at eight 'o clock to receive your detention. Please be prompt, and don't be late. If you are, you will receive another night's detention."  
Hermione nodded and turned around. As she walked out of the potions room, she was silently cursing him. 'Damn you, Professor. Why would you give me a month's detention for being late???? That is absolutely outrageous!' Hermione was raging at the thought of having to spend an evening with this evil man.  
She made her way down the corridor and up the staircase to make her way to her Transfiguration class with the Hufflepuffs. The stairs were moving around quite quickly today, but she didn't care. She could care less about something of that unimportance. She climbed quickly up three flights of stairs and made it to the third floor landing. Turning the corner, she bumped heads with Neville for the second time today. Before she could see whom she hit she started. "You should watch where you are going next time, budd-" She looked up quickly and softened her expression. "I am so sorry, Neville!"  
Neville smiled and blushed. "It's ok, Hermione." He looked at his feet and blushed a deeper crimson color. "Um. Herm-Hermione? I was wondering if you would. well. comeonthenextHogesmedetripwithme."  
She smiled and replied, "I would love too, Neville." She put her hand on his shoulder and kissed him lightly on the cheek and blushed. "We should get to class before we're late. You know how McGonagal gets. "  
  
Class started five minutes after Hermione had kissed Neville. Everybody was situated, but McGonagal showed up ten minutes later than she was supposed to. "Sorry everybody," she said in her Irish accent, "for my inconvenience. I had some business to attend to. Professor Trelawney had a minor accident."  
Harry and Ron looked at each other hopefully. Ron whispered to Harry, "Maybe we won't have her this week!" Harry nodded in agreement.  
Professor McGonagal had obviously overheard their little conversation and said so the whole class would hear, "Rest assured, Mr. Weasley, that your dear Professor is back in the class and is livelier than ever. Well, maybe not livelier, but you know what I mean."  
  
At lunch, Hermione had caught Professor Snape looking at her. Not glaring like he normally does, but just looking. 'Why is he looking at me like that? What did I do?' The professor noticed that she was looking at him, and he returned to her meal. She had silently shrugged her shoulders when somebody had sat next to her.  
"Hello, Hermione!" Neville said happily.  
"Why, hello Neville!" Hermione replied in surprise. "How are you?"  
"Fine, well, almost fine. I just got a Howler from Gran about leaving one of my school books at home." Neville must have been embarrassed about this because his neck was producing a few small drops of sweat.  
"She did send it, didn't she?" Hermione inquired with interest.  
Neville, however, was feeling uncomfortable. "Yes, she did. Hermione, can you help me with that essay Snape assigned us?"  
Hermione's face fell. "I would love to, Neville, but you know that I do have detention with him tonight."  
Neville had just wanted to spend time with her. "Oh, right. Well, I'll see you later then."  
Hermione waved good bye to him, and got back to her food. 'Well, I have Arithmancy and then Care of Magical Creatures. Four hours before I can start to dread the night to come.' Hermione had obviously not wanted her detention to get in the way of her having fun in her two favorite classes. 'All I have to do is get through these classes and dinner. I'll have two and a half hours before I have to go down there, so I should be fine.'  
  
Well, she wasn't fine. She was snapping at little first years who were chewing to loudly.  
"Hermione, are you ok? You have had detentions before, why are you acting so strangely?" Asked Harry, who was looking at her with concern.  
"Yes," she snapped, "of course I'm fine. I only have detention with Snape!"  
  
An hour and a half later, she started to make her way to the dungeons, which were a lot colder than they were at night. She could hear water dripping from somewhere in the distance, but before she could find out what it was, she arrived at her destination, five minutes early.  
"You're early." she heard a voice drawling from over where she usually sat. Her Professor was setting up a cauldron over a burner.  
"Sorry, sir. I didn't want to be late." Hermione apologized.  
"Don't be sorry. You can help me get some ingredients we will need for the potion. Oh, tonight for your detention you will be helping me make a potion that will be needed in St. Mungo's to help cure people who have been severely injured." Snape explained.  
"Oh. OK. What will you need, sir?" Hermione asked, heading for the cabinets.  
"Sit. Here is a parchment for on which you will write down the ingredients that will be needed, since there are so many." He told her, as she sat and looked around.  
"I have no quill, sir." She told him quietly  
"Get one of the quills off of my desk. Don't touch anything else." He snarled.  
Hermione got one of the quills she found on the desk. All of them were very nice and fancy eagle quills, which cost a lot in Diagon Alley or in Hogsmede.  
"Now, we will need one hair of niffler, two ounces of dragon blood, a drop of honeydew, three dragon heart strings, one teaspoon of gold dust, two table spoons of ghost sludge, and five newt eyes."  
Hermione looked around at all the shelves and cabinets and found all of the ingredients she would need in five minutes. "I have all of the ingredients, sir." She informed him.  
"Add half of an ounce of dragon's blood, one table spoon of ghost sludge, and the newt eyes. Stir it slowly in the clockwise direction for two minutes. After that, we will add the gold dust and we will let it simmer for one week exactly." Snape said easily.  
Hermione looked at him thoughtfully with her head cocked to one side. 'Wow, he isn't that bad after all. He isn't so. mean. Well, not when there are only two people in the room.'  
"Miss Granger, if you would please listen to me for a few minutes, then you can go back to Dreamland." Professor Snape snapped.  
Hermione blushed then let out a small "sorry" and started to add the ingredients. 'Hermione has sure grown up since her first year. She is so, beautiful, now. Her hair is wonderful. Brown and bouncy. I love her smile. WAIT. WHAT AM I THINKING?!?! I am the teacher and she is the student! This isn't right.. Severus thought, loosing track of time.'  
"Sir, I just added the gold dust. What should I do now?" She asked quietly.  
"You can leave now, Hermione. I will see you one week from now at eight 'o clock right here."  
Hermione raised a curious eyebrow and left. Why did he just call me Hermione? 


End file.
